A6
NATION
East Oregonian
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Toxic metals pouring out of former mines
Water carries
arsenic, lead and
other metals into
lakes and streams
By MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press
RIMINI, Mont. — Every
day many millions of gallons
of water loaded with arsenic,
lead and other toxic metals
flow from some of the most
contaminated mining sites
in the U.S. and into sur-
rounding streams and ponds
without being treated, The
Associated Press has found.
That torrent is poison-
ing aquatic life and tainting
drinking water sources in
Montana, California, Col-
orado, Oklahoma, Oregon
and at least four other states.
The pollution is a legacy
of how the mining industry
was allowed to operate in
the U.S. for more than a cen-
tury. Companies that built
mines for silver, lead, gold
and other “hardrock” min-
erals could move on once
they were no longer profit-
able, leaving behind tainted
water that still leaks out of
the mines or is cleaned up at
taxpayer expense.
Using data from public
records requests and inde-
pendent researchers, the AP
examined 43 mining sites
under federal oversight,
some containing dozens or
even hundreds of individual
mines.
The records show that at
average flows, more than 50
million gallons of contam-
inated wastewater streams
daily from the sites. In many
cases, it runs untreated into
The Durango Herald/Jerry McBride, File
In this Aug. 6, 2015, file photo, Dan Bender, with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, takes a
water sample from the Animas River near Durango, Colo., after the accidental release of an
estimated 3 million gallons of waste from the Gold King Mine.
nearby groundwater, riv-
ers and ponds — a roughly
20-million-gallon
daily
dose of pollution that could
fill more than 2,000 tanker
trucks.
The remainder of the
waste is captured or treated
in a costly effort that will
need to carry on indefinitely,
for perhaps thousands of
years, often with little hope
for reimbursement.
The volumes vastly
exceed the release from Col-
orado’s Gold King Mine
disaster in 2015, when a
U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency cleanup crew
inadvertently triggered the
release of 3 million gallons
of mustard-colored mine
sludge, fouling rivers in
three states.
At many mines, the pol-
lution has continued decades
after their enlistment in the
federal Superfund cleanup
program for the nation’s
most hazardous sites, which
faces sharp cuts under Pres-
ident Donald Trump.
Federal officials have
raised fears that at least six
of the sites examined by AP
could have blowouts like the
one at Gold King.
In mountains outside
the Montana capital of Hel-
ena, about 30 households
can’t drink their tap water
because groundwater was
polluted by about 150 aban-
doned gold, lead and copper
mines that operated from
the 1870s until 1953.
The
community
of
Rimini was added to the
Superfund list in 1999. Con-
taminated soil in residents’
yards was replaced, and the
EPA has provided bottled
water for a decade. But pol-
luted water still pours from
the mines and into Upper
Tenmile Creek.
“The fact that bottled
water is provided is great,”
said 30-year Rimini resi-
dent Catherine Maynard,
a natural resources analyst
for the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. “Where it falls
short is it’s not piped into
our home. Water that’s piped
into our home is still con-
taminated water. Washing
dishes and bathing — that
metal-laden water is still
running through our pipes.”
Estimates of the num-
ber of such abandoned mine
sites range from 161,000 in
12 western states to as many
as 500,000 nationwide. At
least 33,000 have degraded
the environment, accord-
ing to the Government
Accountability Office, and
thousands more are discov-
ered every year.
Officials have yet to com-
plete work including basic
risk analyses on about 80
percent of abandoned min-
ing sites on federal lands.
Most are controlled by the
Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, which under Trump
is seeking to consolidate
mine cleanups with another
program and cut their com-
bined 2019 spending from
$35 million to $13 million.
Problems at some sites
are intractable.
At northern Califor-
nia’s Iron Mountain Mine,
cleanup teams battle to con-
tain highly acidic water that
percolates through a former
copper and zinc mine and
drains into a Sacramento
River tributary. The mine
discharged six tons of toxic
sludge daily before an EPA
cleanup. Authorities now
spend $5 million a year to
remove poisonous sludge
that had caused massive
fish kills, and they expect to
keep at it forever.
In Colorado’s San Juan
Mountains, site of the Gold
King blowout, some 400
abandoned or inactive mine
sites contribute an estimated
15 million gallons of acid
mine drainage per day.
AP also found mining
sites where untreated water
harms the environment or
threatens drinking water
supplies in North and South
Carolina, Vermont, Mis-
souri and Oregon.
This landscape of pol-
luted sites occurred under
mining
industry
rules
largely unchanged since the
1872 Mining Act.
State and federal laws
in recent decades have held
companies more account-
able than in the past, but
critics say huge loopholes
all but ensure that some
of today’s mines will foul
waterways or require per-
petual cleanups.
To avoid a catastrophe
like Gold King, EPA offi-
cials now require advance
approval for work on many
mining sites. But they
acknowledge they’re only
dealing with a small portion
of the problem.
“We have been trying to
play a very careful game of
prioritization,” said Dana
Stalcup, deputy director of
the Superfund program.
“We know the Superfund
program is not the answer to
the hundreds of thousands
of mines out there, but the
mines we are working on we
want to do them the best we
can.”
Fed officials noted number of rising threats
By MARTIN
CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
President Donald Trump gestures as visiting Austrian Chan-
cellor Sebastian Kurz leaves the White House in Washington
following their meeting on Wednesday.
Dems’ measure blocking
Trump will come Friday
By ALAN FRAM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
—
House Democrats will file a
resolution on Friday aimed
at blocking the national
emergency declaration that
President Donald Trump
has issued to help finance
his wall along the South-
west border, teeing up a
clash over billions of dol-
lars, immigration policy and
the Constitution’s separation
of powers.
Though the effort seems
almost certain to ultimately
fall short — perhaps to a
Trump veto — the votes will
let Democrats take a defiant
stance against Trump that
is sure to please liberal vot-
ers. They will also put some
Republicans from swing
districts and states in a dif-
ficult spot.
Formally
introducing
the measure sets up a vote
by the full House likely by
mid-March, perhaps as soon
as next week, because of a
timeline spelled out by law.
Initial passage by the Dem-
ocratic-run House seems
assured.
The measure would then
move to the Republican-con-
trolled Senate, where there
may be enough GOP defec-
tions for approval. The law
that spells out the rules for
emergency
declarations
seems to require the Sen-
ate to address the issue too,
but there’s never been a con-
gressional effort to block
one and some procedural
uncertainties remain.
Should the House and
Senate initially approve the
measure, Congress seems
unlikely to muster the two-
thirds majorities in each
chamber that would be
needed later to override a
certain Trump veto.
Even so, Republican sen-
ators facing tough re-elec-
tion fights next year in
competitive states like Ari-
zona, Colorado and North
Carolina would have to
take stances that could risk
dividing the GOP’s pro-
Trump and more moderate
voters.
Moderate Sen. Susan
Collins, R-Maine, said
Wednesday she would
back a resolution block-
ing the emergency decla-
ration, making her the first
Republican to publicly state
her support for the effort to
thwart the emergency.
WASHINGTON
—
Federal Reserve policy-
makers last month noted
greater threats to the U.S.
economy, ranging from
adverse effects of the gov-
ernment shutdown to rising
trade tensions, and decided
to emphasize that they
would be “patient” in rais-
ing interest rates.
Minutes of the Fed’s Jan-
uary discussions, released
Wednesday, showed that
Fed officials also felt that
further rate hikes might
only be needed if inflation
were to accelerate.
Fed
officials
also
appeared close to agreeing
on a plan to stop reducing
their enormous bond port-
folio before year’s end — a
step intended to help ease
upward pressure on bor-
rowing rates.
The minutes showed
that Fed officials believe a
“patient approach” to rate
hikes would give them more
time to assess the economic
impact of President Donald
Trump’s trade battles with
China and other countries,
as well as the severity of a
developing slowdown in
global growth.
In response to the global
slowdown, several Fed offi-
cials trimmed their eco-
nomic outlooks while
acknowledging that down-
side risks had increased.
Analysts said the min-
utes indicated that the bar
for restarting rate increases
seemed to be quite high.
“The upshot is we now
expect the Fed to leave rates
unchanged throughout this
year,” said Paul Ashworth,
chief U.S. economist at
Capital Economics.
Ashworth said he thinks
the Fed’s next rate move
would be cuts next year as
U.S. growth slows further.
The minutes covered
the Fed’s Jan. 29-30 meet-
ing where the central bank
left its key policy rate
unchanged and signaled
a major pivot away from
steadily raising rates.
Instead, the Fed’s state-
Winter storm snarls travel in much of the U.S.
NEW YORK (AP) — A
sprawling storm dumped
several inches of snow
from the Midwest to the
East Coast and deluged the
South with rain Wednesday
as it closed schools, snarled
air travel and littered high-
ways with crashes.
Only a few inches of
snow fell along the Inter-
state 95 corridor from
New York to Washington,
but it was enough to put a
scare into an area that has
seen little of it this winter.
Schools and government
offices around the region
closed early.
New Jersey’s gover-
nor declared a state of
emergency, even though
only 4 inches of snow was
expected before turning
to rain Wednesday night.
State and local government
offices in Delaware closed
early, and so did local
offices in Philadelphia.
But the evening com-
mute started out on a good
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
A pedestrian strolls past a statue of Pittsburgh Pirates Hall
of Famer Willie Stargell outside PNC Park as snow falls
Wednesday morning in Pittsburgh.
note. A spokesperson for
AAA Mid-Atlantic had
said earlier in the after-
noon it appeared motorists
heeded warnings to stay off
roads.
Nationwide, more than
2,200 flights were can-
celed and more than 5,500
were delayed, according to
the flight-tracking website
FlightAware. The mid-At-
lantic region was espe-
cially hard hit as airlines
pulled flights ahead of the
storm. Washington’s Rea-
gan National Airport led
the pack.
“Travel anymore is not
easy, so you expect the
unexpected,” said Stacy
Flye, trying to get home to
ENJOY 3 EXCEPTIONAL SERVICES FROM AT&T.
Pay one price for two great services: high-speed Internet
Serious speed!
and a full-featured home phone
This is real dental insurance from Physicians Mutual Insurance Company
Simply Broadband Max
BROADBAND ULTRA + PHONE + SECURE
19
99
Per Month
With Qualifying
Phone Service
6 Mbps + Free Wi-Fi Router + 1 Year Price Lock
Call
Call today
today
and
and pay
pay less
less
67
97
that helps pay for over 350 procedures – cleanings, fillings, crowns, even dentures.
• No annual maximum, no deductible
• See any dentist you want – including your own
• Over 50? Coverage as low as $1 per day
Per Month
WIRELESS
• The best network according to
America’s biggest test.
and Mexico. 1
Call now to get this FREE Information Kit
1-844-239-9335
855-972-6641
855-972-6641
You
You can’t
You
can’t get
can’t
get BS
BS
get
from
from
BS a from
a buffalo.
buffalo.
a buffalo.
*Internet
*Internet
access access
service service
and charges
and charges
not included.
not included.
Frontier does
Frontier
not does
warrant
not that
warrant
the service
that the
will service
be error-free
will be or error-free
uninterrupted.
or uninterrupted.
Nest products:
Nest
Additional
products:
$9 Additional
shipping fee
$9 per
shipping
Nest device.
fee per Nest
Nest products
device. must
Nest be
products
purchased
must with
be new
purchased
Internet with
service
new or Internet
eligible service
Frontier or Secure
eligible
axes,
services.
governmental
Frontier
Taxes,
Secure
governmental
and
services.
Frontier-imposed
Taxes,
and Fr
governmental
surcharges, and Frontier-imposed surcharges,
minimum
minimum
system system
requirements
requirements
and other
and
terms
other
and
terms
conditions
and conditions
apply. Nest®,
apply.
Nest
Nest®,
Learning
Nest Thermostat™,
Learning Thermostat™,
Nest Protect™,
Nest Nest
Protect™,
Cam™ Nest
and the
Cam™
Nest and
logo the
are Nest
trademarks
logo are
or trademarks
service marks
or of
service
Nest Labs,
marks Inc.
of Nest
©2017 Labs,
Frontier
Inc. Communications
©2017 Frontier Communications
Corporation
Corporation
dental50plus.com/25
*Individual Plan. Coverage not available in all states. Acceptance guaranteed for one insurance policy/ certificate of this type. Contact us for complete details about this insurance solicitation.
This specific offer is not available in CO, NY; call 1-800-969-4781 or respond for similar offer. Certificate C250A (ID: C250E; PA: C250Q); Insurance Policy P150 (GA: P150GA; NY: P150NY;
OK: P150OK; TN: P150TN)
AW19-1034
6197
HIGH SPEED INTERNET
• Consistently fast speeds.
Connection with over 99% reliability.
Based on GWS OneScore Sept. 2018. Excludes crowd sourced studies.
• Unlimited calls to Canada
• Unlimited texts to 120+ countries. 1
12 Mbps + Free Wi-Fi Router + 2 Year Price Lock
Protect Your Identity, Devices & Files
Florida. “And you know,
we knew the weather was
going to be bad, but some-
times you just have to take
your chances.”
Amtrak made changes
to its Keystone service
between New York and
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Multiple crashes, including
a jackknifed tractor-trailer,
shut down westbound lanes
of the Pennsylvania Turn-
pike in Lancaster County.
Farther west, snow
forced Minneapolis and St.
Paul schools and scores of
other districts in Minnesota
and Wisconsin to cancel
classes as up to 10 inches of
snow fell on the region.
Schools, businesses and
government offices in Kan-
sas closed or announced
plans to start late. Several
school districts closed in
Missouri, where officials
said many roads across the
northern half of the state
were partially or com-
pletely snow covered.
SCORE
THE ULTIMATE LINEUP
Save with Frontier Internet Bundles
Bundle and save today
ment said it would be
“patient” in determining
when to hike rates again.
The statement cited the
global economy, which has
been slowing, and financial
developments including a
plunge in stock prices, as
reasons for the change.
The minutes said that
participants believed “a
patient posture would allow
time for a clearer picture of
the international trade pol-
icy situation and the state
of the global economy to
emerge and, in particular,
could allow policymakers
to reach a firmer judgment
about the extent and per-
sistence of the economic
slowdown in Europe and
China.”
and a wired connection to Gateway.
• AT&T Internet is #1 in customer
satisfaction over other major cable
Internet providers.
Claim based on 2018 ACSI survey of customers rating their own Internet
provider’s performance.
CALL NOW and ask about Next Day Installation.
Iv Support Holdings LLC
DIRECTV
• Get access to 155+ live and local
channels, with thousands of shows
and movies on demand. 2 With SELECT™ Package.
• Stream on up to 5 screens at the same
time with the DIRECTV App. 3 Content/channels/
functionality vary. Data usage charges may apply. 2
• One HD DVR connects your whole
home. 4 Add'l equip. req'd. Add'l & Advanced Receiver fees apply.
855-502-2578
Geographic and service restrictions apply to U-verse services. Call or visit att.com/uverse to verify eligibility. 1 UNLIMITED TALK: Phones only. Includes calls from and to DCA, Mexico and Canada. Other Countries: Per-minute pay-per-use rates apply unless you have an International Long Distance service package. Rates subject to change w/o notice. For rates, see att.com/worldconnect. UNLIMITED TEXT: Standard Messaging – Phones only. Requires compatible device. Includes unlimited messages up to 1MB
in size within DCA to more than 190 countries for text messages and 120 countries for picture & video messages. AT&T may add, change & remove included countries at its discretion w/o notice. Messages sent through applications may incur data or other charges. See att.com/text2world for details. Advanced Messaging: Sender and recipient(s) must be AT&T postpaid wireless customers with HD Voice accounts, capable devices, have their devices turned on & be within AT&T-owned and -operated DCA (excludes
third-party coverage & use in Mexico/Canada). Includes unlimited messages up to 10MB in size. Other restrictions apply & can be found at att.com/advancedmessaging. GEN. WIRELESS SVC: Subj. to Wireless Customer Agmt (att.com/wca). Credit approval required. Svcs not for resale. Deposit: May apply. Limits: Purch. & line limits apply. Prices may vary by location. Taxes, fees, monthly and other charges, usage, speed, coverage & other restr's apply per line. See att.com/additionalcharges for details on fees &
charges. Promotions, terms & restr's subject to change & may be modified or terminated at any time without notice. International and domestic off-net data may be at 2G speeds. AT&T service is subject to AT&T network management policies. See att.com/broadbandinfo for details. 2 Access to available DIRECTV On Demand programming based on package selection. Actual number of shows and movies will vary. Additional fees apply for new releases and certain library titles. Compatible equipment and broadband
Internet service with speeds of 750 Kbps or higher required. Downloading On Demand content may count against your data plan allowance. Visit directv.com/movies for details. 3 Live streaming and On Demand channels vary according to TV package, location and device. Additional fees apply for new releases. Out-of-home viewing requires High Speed Internet connection. Channels/additional features available for live streaming at home when connected to an HD DVR with High Speed connection. All functions
and programming subject to change at any time. Visit directv.com/streamdirectv to get a list of compatible devices (sold separately) and details. 4 Whole-Home HD DVR functionality req’s an HD DVR connected to one television and a Genie Mini, H25 HD Receiver(s) or a DIRECTV Ready TV/Device in each additional room. Limit three remote viewings per HD DVR at a time. Visit directv.com/genie for complete details. Exclusions: Does not include taxes, $19.95 activation fee, Regional Sports fee of up to $7.49/mo.
(which is extra & applies to CHOICE and/or MÁS ULTRA and higher pkgs), applicable use tax expense surcharge on retail value of installation, equipment upgrades/add-ons and certain other add’l fees & charges. DIRECTV SVC TERMS: Subject to Equipment Lease & Customer Agreements. Must maintain a min. base TV pkg of $29.99/mo. Programming, pricing, terms and conditions subject to change at any time. Some offers may not be available through all channels and in select areas. Visit
directv.com/legal or call for details. ©2018 AT&T Intellectual Property. All Rights Reserved. AT&T, Globe logo, DIRECTV, and all other DIRECTV marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.